Emerhor, Delta APC petition INEC over lawyer’s denial of card readers

Delta State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the last general elections, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, has said there were moves to subvert the election rules in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In a petition to the Acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs Amina Zakari, the APC flag bearer alleged that INEC’s counsel at the governorship petitions tribunal, D. D. Dodo, denied the documented and publicised directive on the use of the electronic Card Readers for the April 11 elections.

The Delta APC had built its case around the non-compliance with INEC’s directive that the April 11 polls.

But in a letter to INEC, through their lawyer, S. M. Egbune, Emerhor and APC alleged that INEC’s lawyer at the tribunal in Asaba, D. D. Dodo, had abandoned the brief and official position of the commission.

Egbune said Dodo filed responses that denied and contradicted the mandatory use of Card Readers for the elections.

In his reply to the tribunal, Dodo had said: “The respondents admit that by law and by the third respondent’s (INEC’s) directives and guidelines for the conduct of a free, fair, credible and transparent election, accreditation of voters is a condition precedent to voting by a registered voter on election day, but deny that the third respondent prescribed the mandatory use of electronic Card Readers for the accreditation of voters for the elections of April 11 in each of the polling units in each local government area.

“The respondents state that the Electoral Act is a comprehensive Act which deals with the conduct of elections in Nigeria. Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) provides for the only mode of accreditation of voters, which is solely through the Register of voters. Accreditation at an election is regulated by the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

“The introduction of Card Reader Machine is a mere instruction at the election to facilitate the accreditation process and does not in any way equate with or obliterate the express provisions of the Electoral Act, which are extant for all purposes.

“From inception it was contemplated that upon failure of the Card Reader Machine, other contingencies will be resorted to in order to ensure that election is duly conducted and that legitimate voters were not disenfranchised.

“The ultimate mechanism was a resort to the manual accreditation as provided for in the Electoral Act. The Respondents shall contend that with the challenges presented by the Card Reader Machine, the process of accreditation proceeded as was expressly provided for in the Electoral Act. There were no acts of non-compliance which materially affected the result of the election.”

The petitioners expressed shock that Dodo went against INEC’s official position.

They recalled that INEC’s former Chairman Prof Attahiru Jega publicly reinstated the commission’s position, confirming the mandatory use of Card Readers.

They said Dodo was misrepresenting INEC and was acting outside the commission’s directives.

The petitioners said the lawyer’s action was putting INEC’s reputation, as a fair electoral umpire, at risk.

They urged Mrs Zakari to look into their complaint against Dodo in order to correct and defend INEC’s official position without let or favour to any of the parties to the election petition.